Adjustable dress form



July 9, 1963 E. E. RONELL 3,096,916

ADJUSTABLE DRESS FORM Filed March 20, 1958 r 3 8m r imw m m hm m i E? nr n n ufifl P m F United States Patent F 3,096,916 ADJUSTABLE DRESS FORMEva Elizabeth Ronell, New York, N.Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, toMy Double Company, Inc., Stamford, Conn. 7

Filed Mar. 20, 1958, Ser. No. 722,770 4 Claims. (Cl. 223-68) The presentinvention relates to adjustable dress forms.

More particularly, the present invention relates to that type ofadjustable dress form which is made of a material which is sufficientlynon-resilient so that the dress form will retain whatever shape it isbent to by the operator. Such dress forms can be shaped to the figure ofa particular person, and then later on the same dress form can bere-shaped to a dilferent figure.

Although such dress forms are known, the conventional dress forms ofthis type have several disadvantages. Thus, the construction of suchconventional dress forms is rendered undesirably expensive andcomplicated by the fact that such dress forms are in some cases made upof lengths of wires which have to be fastened together by a great numberof special fasteners. Where non-metallic wire is used, such as plasticfilaments, then such filaments must be bent to a desired shape andjoined in a costly and complex manner to the other filaments.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an adjustabledress form of the above type which is of an exceedingly simple andinexpensive construction as compared to heretofore known dress forms ofthis type.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustabledress form of the above type which requires no special fasteners betweena plurality of wires or the like which make up the dress form.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustabledress form of the above type which has a smooth outer surface so that itis incapable of scratching or otherwise injuring either the person towhom the form is molded or the operator who shapes the form and handlesit after it has been given the desired shape.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an adjustabledress form which can be very easily placed on and removed from theperson to whom the form is molded.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple andinexpensive process for manufacturing an adjustable dress form capableof accomplishing all of the above objects.

With the above objects in view the present invention includes in anadjustable dress form a wire mesh, preferably a chicken wire mesh, madeup of wires which are easily bendable and substantially non-resilient sothat they retain the shape to which they are bent. In accordance withthe present invention this wire mesh is covered at all of its parts by aplastic covering material which may be a rubberized plastic or a vinylplastic.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of a pair of complementary dressform sections which cooperate together to form the complete dress form;

FIG. 2 fragmentarily illustrates a section of a wire mesh used in thedress form of FIG. 1 and illustrated in FIG. 2 in the condition it hasbefore it is covered with a plastic material;

FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates a spraying process 3,096,916Patented July 9, 1963 ice for manufacturing the dress form of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 4 diagrammatically illustrates a dipping process.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the adjustable dress form of the presentinvention is made up of a pair of complementary dress form sections 10and 11 which are mirror images of each other. Each of the sections iscomposed of a wire mesh which is covered with a coating of a suitableplastic material. Before being coated with the plastic material the wiremesh is cut so as to form the arm holes 12 and edges of the wire meshare joined to each other along the shoulders 13. Also, a suitable wavywire 14 is joined to the mesh to form the collar. A plurality offlexible tabs 15 are located along the front edge 16 and the rear edge17 of the section 11, while a plurality of flexible tabs 18 are locatedalong the front edge 19 and the rear edge 20 of the section 10.

The person to Whom the adjustable form is to be molded places bothsections on his person by extending his arms through the holes 12, andthe tabs 15 carry one-half of a plurality of snap fasteners, while thetabs 18 carry snap fastener elements which cooperate with those carriedby the tabs 15, so that with these snap fasteners the two sections arereleasably held together on the person, and then the form is shaped tothe person.

The wire mesh used for the dress form of the present invention is madeof a flexible, easily bendable, substantially non-resilient wire whichretains the shape to which it has been bent. It is preferred inaccordance with the present invention to use the wire mesh which iscommercially known as chicken wire. This mesh is extremely inexpensiveand has the desired properties of being easily bendable while beingsubstantially non-resilient so that it retains the shape to which it hasbeen bent. Such a chicken wire mesh can easily be cut and can easilyhave its wires twisted together so as to form the arm holes 12 and theshoulder connections 13.

A section of such a chicken wire mesh is shown in FIG. 2 before it hasbeen covered, in accordance with the present invention, with a plasticcoating. Thus, FIG. 2 fragmentarily illustrates a portion 21 of aconventional chicken Wire mesh.

0f course, such a mesh if it were used by itself as an adjustable dressform would have the disadvantage of being uncomfortable to the hands ofthe operator as well as the person to whom the form is applied, and freeends of the wires might scratch the users of the adjustable dress form.Therefore, according to the present invention, the wires of the mesh arecovered with a plastic coating, and the finished form with the plasticcoating on the mesh is shown in FIG. 1. In this way, all sharp ends ofthe wire are covered and the thickness of the mesh is built up by theadded thickness of the plastic material. The plastic material whichcovers each of the sections 10 and 11 is fully continuous in that thereis no exposed portion of wire on the complete dress form and thecovering for the wire of each section is a single piece of material.

Among the plastics which are suitable for covering the wire of thepresent invention are vinyl plastics such as polyvinylchloride orrubberized plastics.

As is shown in FIG. 3, in accordance with the present invention, thewire mesh 22 which is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 3 but which has theconfiguration shown in FIG. 1 for one of the sections 10 or 11 has theplastic material sprayed thereon. Any conventional sprayer 23 may beused, and the plastic material 24 is sprayed from the discharge nozzleof the sprayer onto the wire mesh. In the case of polyvinylchloride,this material is located, for example, in liquid form with a suitablesolvent in the sprayer, and the condition of the liquid is such thatduring the time that it passes through the air and engages the wire meshthe solvent evaporates to the atmosphere leaving the plastic material onthe wire mesh, and this plastic material solidifies in a relativelyshort time.

Instead of combining the plastic material with a solvent, a suitablecatalyst maybe admixed with the plastic material to producesolidification when the plastic material is deposited on the wire meshby the sprayer 23.

As is shown in FIG. 4, instead of spraying, a dipping process may beused. For example, a bath 25 of a latex solution is located in asuitable receptacle 26, and then the wire mesh section 2.2 which iseither the section or the section 11 of FIG. 1 is dipped in a well knownway into the latex solution so that When the mesh is removed its wiresare covered with the rubberized plastic.

After the mesh has been covered in this way with the plastic material,the tabs 15 and 18 are provided along the edges 1620 in the mannerdescribed above in connection with FIG. 1. These tabs may take the formof a simple strip of fabric which extends around an edge of the meshinto an opening formed by the mesh, and the fastener element which iscarried by this strip serves to hold its free ends together so that anendless tab is provided surrounding a section of the mesh and extendingfreely therefrom.

It is evident, therefore, that with the process and article of thepresent invention there is provided an adjustable dress form which is ofan exceedingly simple construction, which is exceedingly inexpensive tomanufacture, particularly when using inexpensive chicken wire, andfurthermore it is free of any rough or sharp surfaces. Moreover, thedress form can easily be placed on or removed from the person.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofdress forms differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in anadjustable dress form, it is not intended to be limited to the detailsshown, since various modifications and structural changes may be madewithout departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 4

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully 4 reveal the gistof the present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An adjustable dress form including portions for a 7 part of the bodyof a wearer adjacent the neck of said wearer comprising, in combination,a pair of complementary dress form sections each composed of achicken-wire mesh made up of substantially non-resilient flexible wirestwisted together at their points of intersection and capable of holdingthe shape of a dress form to which they are bent by the user and formedwith undulations in the region of the neck; a continuous uninterruptedplastic coating covering the wire mesh and the twisted intersectingportions of each of said sections; and releasable fastening meanscarried by said sections for releasably fastening the same together.

2. An adjustable dress form as recited in claim 1 and wherein saidplastic is rubberized.

3. An adjustable dress form as recited in claim 1 and wherein saidplastic is a vinyl plastic.

4. An adjustable dress form as recited in claim 1, wherein saidcomplementary dress form sections are mirror images of each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,957,554 Rector May 8, 1934 1,999,103 Lewin Apr. 23, 1935 2,335,314Sander Nov. 30, 1943 2,367,891 Sander Jan. 23, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS10,915 Australia Oct. 12, 1933 185,766 Austria June 11, 1956

1. AN ADJUSTABLE DRESS FORM INCLUDING PORTIONS FOR A PART OF THE BODY OFA WEARER ADJACENT THE NECK OF SAID WEARER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, APAIR OF COMPLEMENTARY DRESS FORM SECTIONS EACH COMPOSED OF ACHICKEN-WIRE MESH MADE UP OF SUBSTANTIALLY NON-RESILIENT FLEXIBLE WIRESTWISTED TOGETHER AT THEIR POINTS OF INTERSECTION AND CAPABLE OF HOLDINGTHE SHAPE OF A DRESS FORM TO WHICH THEY ARE BENT BY THE USER AND FORMEDWITH UNDULATIONS IN THE REGION OF THE NECK; A CONTINUOUS UNINTERRUPTEDPLASTIC COATING COVERING THE WIRE MESH AND THE TWISTED INTERSECTINGPORTIONS OF EACH OF SAID SECTIONS; AND RELEASABLE FASTENING MEANSCARRIED BY SAID SECTIONS FOR RELEASABLY FASTENING THE SAME TOGETHER.